Charity Link marked its 150th anniversary with a civic dinner in Leicester - where chair George Oliver used his welcome address to link the charity’s Victorian origins with its present-day fight against poverty.

The charity’s special birthday event took place at the Masonic Hall in Leicester and saw guests and supporters attend the sold-out celebration. Guests included patron Michael Kapur OBE CStJ, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, the Lord Mayor of Leicester, and the Chair of Leicestershire County Council.

Addressing guests, George recalled the year Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call and Middlesbrough Football Club was formed - setting the context for the founding of the Leicester Charity Organisation Society. It is today known as Charity Link. 

He told how civic leaders met at what is now the City Rooms to ensure people in hardship had “just enough” support to get back on their feet, establishing a model of targeted help that continues today.

George, who became chair in 2024, said the charity has supported local people through Spanish flu, two World Wars, recessions, the pandemic and a Leicester City title win. But he warned that Leicester still has some of the highest rates of poverty in the UK. 

He pointed to casework showing people sleeping on floors, skipping meals and unable to heat their homes, and highlighted the charity’s impact in helping more than 5,000 people a year, including around one-third children.

One case study George shared involved a lone parent who had fled domestic violence and was trying to set up a new home while reliant on benefits. Small grants for essential white goods, including a cooker and washing machine, improved the family’s daily life, health and dignity, he said.

George also said that Charity Link is becoming more socially entrepreneurial, with Trust Admin and Goods Depot services growing quickly, and an AI working group now implementing technology “to build our impact in the next century”. 

He thanked former chair Clive Smith, former treasurer Tony Jarvis, six newly recruited trustees and CEO Sue McEniff and her team for steering the organisation through change.

A Leicestershire-themed three-course meal was provided with entertainment from host and magician Eddie Young Magic and music from Leicestershire Sinfonia and DJ Master Mason.

George said: “Charity Link was founded to help people in hardship get back on their feet - and 150 years on that mission is as urgent as ever.

“As we celebrate this incredible milestone, our focus is firmly on the future - using new partnerships, social enterprise, and digital technology to grow our impact so that thousands more local people can live with dignity, security and hope.”